QB search is ongoing for Jaguars, Browns

Chad Henne and Blaine Gabbert are to Jacksonville what Jason Campbell is to Brandon Weeden. The 2014 draft might be the same to both teams, while the 2011 draft stands as a red flag.

Steve Doerschuk CantonRep.com sports writer @sdoerschukREP

The Jaguars roll into Cleveland with a warning:

Beware of drafts bereft of can’t-miss quarterbacks.

Prior to a current 2-1 awakening, Jacksonville had lost 27 of its last 31 games.

“Reach-for-a-quarterback” syndrome is part of the problem.

Tennessee, Jacksonville and Minnesota all were desperate for an air attack when they launched into the 2011 draft. The Titans reached for Jake Locker at No. 8 overall, the Jaguars for Blaine Gabbert at No. 10, the Vikings for Christian Ponder at No. 12.

With each reach, a hand was bitten, a franchise was set back.

Heading into their game against 2-9 Jacksonville, the 4-9 Browns are on the fringes of a top-10 draft pick. They are scouting the same quarterbacks, unhappy with their own recent first-round picks who aren’t cutting it.

NFL Draft Scout forecasts the Browns plucking Fresno State QB Derek Carr at No. 8, with the next quarterback off the board, Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel, going to Tennessee at No. 15. Walterfootball.com sees Carr going to the Browns at No. 10 and “Johnny Football” landing with the Titans at No. 11.

They are mock drafts. Those quarterbacks picked in 2011 are a cautionary tale of what happens in real drafts.

• Locker has been the best of the first three passers picked that year. In three seasons with the Titans, his record as a starter is 8-10.

He beat the Steelers in the 2013 season opener, insofar as a 125-yard passing day in a 16-9 game can be attributed to him. He threw for 326 yards in a 38-13 route of the Jets on Sept. 29.

His most recent game, however, was a disaster — against Jacksonville. He fell behind 10-0, then threw an interception that led to a field goal and a 13-0 Jaguars lead. With 6:33 left in the first half, he was hit, fumbled, and left the field with a season-ending foot injury.

An option that would pay Locker $15 million for the 2015 season must be picked up — or declined — before the 2014 draft. The early guess: It will be a no thanks.

Browns fans recall Brian Hoyer outplaying Ponder during the Vikings’ home opener, in which the home crowd couldn’t stop booing the home team.

Ponder started all 16 games for a 10-6 playoff team last year, but Adrian Peterson racked up historic rushing numbers.

Counting games in his rookie year of 2011 and in 2013, Ponder’s record is 3-14-1.

“By the end of the year, we should definitely have an idea on what direction to go,” Spielman said earlier this month. “If we have a franchise quarterback on this roster right now ... or do we have to go into the draft potentially and look for a franchise quarterback?”

• Locker has had flashes of success. Ponder was part of a playoff team. Gabbert’s Jacksonville run has been strictly a mess.

A recent article on bigcatcountry.com, a popular Jaguars website, was headlined: “Is Blaine Gabbert the worst top-10 draft pick in the modern era?”

For that title, Gabbert is getting a run from, among others, the No. 3 overall pick of the 2012 draft — Trent Richardson averaged a feeble 3.6 yards a carry as a Browns rookie and is at 2.8 in nine games since being traded to the Colts.

Gabbert peaked midway through his rookie year. On Nov. 20, 2011, at Cleveland, he drove the Jaguars to a first and goal on the Browns’ 2-yard line with 13 seconds left, trailing 14-10.

Gabbert was on the verge of a third win within four games..

He came close but couldn’t deliver a touchdown on three plays. The victory went to Colt McCoy.

Starting with that loss at Cleveland, Gabbert is in a 3-17 slump. He was benched in favor of Chad Henne after a 42-10 loss to the 49ers. Since then, the Jaguars are 2-1 behind Henne.

On Monday, Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley said the plan is for Henne to take all of the snaps in the remaining five games. Asked about Gabbert’s future, he said, “I don’t even think about that right now.”

The Browns took their shot at a quarterback in 2012, drafting Brandon Weeden at No. 22 overall. They had a shot at QB Ryan Tannehill but opted for Richardson. The Dolphins, whose quarterback had been Henne for a while, went for Tannehill with the No. 8 pick.

Henne basically is Jacksonville’s Jason Campbell.

Like Gabbert, Weeden was benched and replaced by the journeyman. Campbell, however, has a concussion.

On Sunday, it will be Henne vs. Weeden. The former has a 3-15 record as a starter in his last three years. The latter is 5-14 as he returns to the starting lineup.

The personnel departments of both teams cast an anxious eye on next year’s draft-ready quarterback crop.

While they are not getting anywhere with what they have, they know it’s a jungle out there.

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